Involved By Chance
by FunterMunter
Summary: When Sam finds a young girl hurt in an alleyway on her way to work one morning, she becomes involuntarily involved.
1. Chapter 1 'she knew the signs'

_Hey, this is my first Casualty fanfic, I'm not sure how long this will be but any feedback is appreciated, feel free to PM me with any questions, I won't be updating daily but I hope to as often as I can, but I'm going back to school on thursday so time might be tight. If you notice and typos, speling mistakes, or grammatical errors then it'd be good if you could either mention it in a review or a PM so I can change it, I'm a bit of a grammar nazi ;) Anyway, enjoy!_

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**Chapter One _'she knew the signs'_**

Crunch, she could hear the sound of his black boots on the gravel. She tried to sit up and her head was spinning. There was a sickening pain in her stomach, she started retching on the ground, her head was spinning even more. She felt a burning sensation at the back of her throat and emptied her stomach onto the ground next to her. Rolling back onto her back, she began coughing, so much that she couldn't breathe. He was still standing over her, squinting through the tears trapped in her eyes she could make out his shape; slim and tall, with dark cropped hair, the rest was blurred. She saw his foot move closer out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't remember how she got here. He bent down and was looking into her eyes. Her stomach felt worse, she could feel it knotting inside her, why was she so scared of this man? She didn't even know him, he was just someone random guy, who was he, and why was he here? His boot, out of the corner of her eye, a blinding pain, then it all went dark.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" A female's voice was shaking her from unconsciousness, she felt a hand on a shoulder and pain tore through her. "My name is Sam, I'm a doctor, I'm going to call you an ambulance, okay?" She felt a hand squeeze hers, "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me?" She tried, she really did, whether she managed it she didn't know. The pain in he stomach was still bad, not a stabbing pain, an ache that stretched across her abdomen. "Hello, yes ambulance please," Sam glanced at the figure lying in front of her "Young female, fourteen, maybe fifteen. I found her lying in an alleyway unconscious, no, I didn't see what happened. I'm Dr. Samantha Nicholls from Holby ED. It's an alleyway just off Ditches Road. Okay, thank you." Sam squeezed her hand again, "Help's on it's way, you'll be fine." The girl's eyes darted around under her eyelids, she just wanted to wake up but she didn't know how. "Can you open your eyes for me?" as hard as she tried, she just couldn't manage it. "Okay, I'm just going to check your pockets to see if you have any ID, try to squeeze my hand if you can hear me." Once again the girl tried her hardest to squeeze Sam's hand, "Good, well done. Sam had felt a faint pressure on her hand that was held by the girl's. She began to look through her pockets, in doing so she noticed her top was ripped, worried by this Sam looked down at her trousers and saw they were too, unzipped, and there was dried blood on them. Sam sighed, she knew the signs. _'Poor girl' _she thought to herself.

The whine of the ambulance sirens echoed around the early morning emptiness of Holby. "What d'you think Dixie? Drunk? High?"

"Come on Jeff, who knows what happened," Dixie was a kindhearted woman, as was Jeff, but he had a tendency to make judgements on occasions, but so does everyone. "She could have fallen over,"

"Yeah fallen over drunk," Jeff chuckled to himself. He steered the ambulance next to the curb and undid his seatbelt,

"Oh come on Jeff," Dixie went and grabbed the medical kit, and her and Jeff walked over to the two figures in the alleyway, "okay Sam, what've we got?"

"Young female, I'm thinking fourteen, maybe fifteen. I couldn't find any ID on her." Sam turned away from the girl and looked Dixie in the eyes, "And there's a possibility of sexual assault." Turning back to the girl, Sam continued, "KOed for 8 minutes since I found her, maybe more, still responsive," Dixie knelt down next to the unnamed girl,

"Hello darling, I'm Dixie, can you tell me your name?" no reply. "Okay, Jeff? Can you get a stretcher here and let's get her over to Holby." Jeff went over to the ambulance to get what was needed, Dixie noticed the girl's eyelids fluttering. "Can you open your eyes for me?" The girl tried, this time she managed to force them open, squinting into the early morning sun, she could make out Dixie and Sam's faces leaning over her.

"What happened?" she groaned, then she became aware again of the aching in her stomach, her hand held her tender abdomen as she tried to sit up,

"Woah, take it easy, you've been unconscious," Sam put her arm around her cold shoulders, "can you tell us your name?"

"Umm, I'm Imi, Imogen Miller." Imi was blinking rapidly, her head was thudding, like the beat of a drum.

"Well then Imi, let's get you to the ED, you're going to need some scans." Sam smiled at Imi as her and Dixie helped her into the back of the ambulance.

"What sort of scans? Is everything okay?" Imi's eyes were wide with terror, she started fidgeting with her hands, and restlessly tapping her foot.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, we just want to check your heads okay, you were unconscious for a little while," Dixie put a comforting arm around her, "it's nothing to worry about." Dixie smiled at her, she was always one you could trust would comfort people, she had a somewhat motherly nature. Sam was sitting opposite them in the ambulance, staring at Imi, her mind deep in thought. She desperately wanted to find out whether Imi had indeed been assaulted but didn't think now was the right time. With a sigh she looked away and waited for them to arrive at Holby.


	2. Chapter 2 'she was fidgeting again'

_So here's the second chapter, I hope you like it. Once again advice is appreciated as are reviews, PM if you want to chat about anything or have any questions_

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**Chapter Two _'she was fidgeting again'_**

During the short, yet for Sam, endless, ambulance journey to Holby, Imi's stomach pains had got worse.

They were sitting in the ambulance, Imi was sitting on the bed, whilst Dixie and Sam kept an eye on her vitals. She moved ever so slightly and that was enough to set the pain going again. She was doubled over, clutching her stomach. "Imi," Dixie hurried towards her, Sam following suit seconds later, "Imi, where's the pain?"

"My stomach," Imi managed to mumble despite the pain.

"Okay Imi," Sam gently pushed her down onto the bed so that she was lying on her back, "I'm just going to have to take a quick look at your stomach, is that okay?" Imi nodded, her face was still screwed up in pain. Sam gently lifted up her shirt to reveal extensive bruising to her stomach, "Imi, how did this happen? Did this happen around the same time as you hurt your head? Imi?" Sam's voice was getting louder.

"Sorry," Imi was replying again, Sam let out a sigh of relief, "I was just... It doesn't matter," Sam was rather bemused by this statement, wondering what it was she was thinking about that made he completely zone out, "Umm, I think so, I probably got it when I fell." Her eyes glanced towards the ground, it didn't take a psychic to realise she was lying.

"Imi," Sam began, readying herself to ask the question she'd been dreading,

"Sam, Dixie, we're here," Jeff shouted from the driver's seat,

"One minute Jeff." Sam decided if she doesn't ask it now she might never, "Imi, those types of bruises don't come from a fall, most likely, they come from someone who's trying to hurt you. When I found you, your shirt was ripped, and your trousers weren't zipped up, Imi, please, talk to someone, it doesn't have to be me but-" Sam was interrupted by an impatient Jeff at the door,

"Come on Sam, the ED's waiting," and with that, the conversation was over. Sam hoped she had gotten through to Imi, but all she could do was hope.

"Okay, what've we got?" Zoe was walking along side Sam who was wheeling Imi in a chair,

"Imogen Miller, aged 14, SATS and BP normal, complaining of stomach pains and head pains, and minor lacerations to the arms, face and legs." Sam recited the words as if she was reading a script, now more than ever she had to remain emotionally uninvolved, she had to do her job and let the police do theirs.

"Right, Linda?" Zoe called out to the nurse walking past, "Can you take Imi here up to CDU and book her a head CT."

"Course I can Zoe," Linda always seemed to have a smile on her face, "right then Imi, off to CDU."

"Sam?" Zoe looked at her

"Yes Zoe?"

"How much do you know about her the cause of her injuries?"

"Well, I can't know for certain," Sam and Zoe walked together over to the office, "but when I found her, her shirt was ripped open, trousers unzipped, and blood on them, she's got bruising on her wrists like she's been held down, and she seems jumpy. So in my opinion, most likely cause is assault, probably sexual, considering I found her down a dark alleyway, alone." Sam once again recited words like a script, not allowing any trace of emotion to leak into her words or onto her face.

"Okay, have you contacted the police?"

"Not yet. I spoke to her in the ambulance and I hope she talks to someone, shall I contact the police now then?" Sam stood up, back straight, like her old army days.

"I'll contact them, you go and see Imogen." And with that Sam walked briskly out of the office, keeping her face emotionless, when inside she was mess.

"Hey Imi, how are you doing?" Sam smiled at her, trying to put what could have happened to the back of her mind, "I'll be taking you to your CT in a minute,"

"Sam?" Imi paused, glancing down at her hands, she was fidgeting again, Sam prepared herself for what she was certain was coming, "Actually it doesn't matter."

"You sure?" Sam looked at her and strained a smile, she knew not to force her to tell her, that wouldn't do anyone any good. Imi nodded, "Okay then." Sam looked up, "Big Mac? Can you give me a hand taking Imi here to CT?" And with that they made their way in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Sam knew Imi wanted to tell her, she had come so close, but she also knew that in her time she would. Two figures stepped through the doors of the ED, police officers, Sam looked at them, and they started to make their way towards where her and Imi were waiting for the lift. "Give me a second, I'll see you up there." Sam said to Imi and Big Mac. She walked over and intercepted the officers before they made their way to see Imi. Imi glanced over her shoulder at Sam at the officers.

"What's going on? Why are they here? Sam wha-" But then the lift door closed and she was transported away from Sam and the officers, having an in-depth discussion over in Zoe's office.


	3. Chapter 3 'trying to convince herself'

_I'm really enjoying writing this and I'm hoping to write quite a bit more tomorrow so look out for updates. I said this before, reviews are appreciated and it always makes me really happy when I get them. Anyway enjoy chapter three._

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**Chapter Three _'she was trying to convince herself'_ **

"I found her on my way to work this morning, she was lying unconscious in an alleyway," Sam was sitting opposite the two police officers in Zoe's office. One was female with a slight figure and the other was a short and burly man with a receding hair line,

"Dr. Nicholls, were there any unusual circumstances or injuries when you found her?" The female police officer was writing in a little blue notebook she held in her left hand,

"Yeah," Sam was struggling to concentrate, her mind kept drifting to when she found Imi, "She was alone. I was looking for some ID to try to find out her name, when I was searching her pockets, I saw that..." Sam was find it hard to keep her composure, "I saw that her top was ripped," she took a deep breath, "I thought that was, strange," She looked the police officer right in the eyes, "when I looked at her trousers, they were unzipped, and there was blood on them." She took another deep breath and continued "She also has bruising to her wrists, like she has been held by someone. When I asked her how she got the bruising on her stomach, she said that it was when she fell. That type of bruising doesn't come from a fall."

"So what do you suspect?" The police officer stopped taking notes and put her pen down "Sexual assault?"

"Yes," Sam sighed, she wished that she wasn't here telling the police that a fourteen year old girl had been raped, "I think so." She could feel a lump beginning to form in her throat, despite her stony exterior she was upset inside, that this could happen and no one had done anything to stop it. It wasn't like she hadn't seen rape victims before, but there was something about Imi, how if Sam hadn't of found her, who knows what would've happened, and how she was fourteen years old, she still had the whole of her life ahead of her and was going to have to live with the memories of what had happened.

"Thank you Dr. Nicholls, that's all for now. We will be talking to Imogen later." The man's voice who's name she hadn't bothered to remember shook her from her thoughts. With a firm handshake, the conversation was over.

It was a long five minutes for Imi; sitting with her head inside this big machine, whirring around constantly, it was giving her a headache. Sam still hadn't come back. Imi had seen her with the police earlier, she knew what was going on. She felt a pang of nerves deep inside her body, that sickening feeling of butterflies that she knew too well.

"Okay Imi, your scan's done now," Linda came over smiling, Zoe had sent her to keep an eye on Imi while Sam was talking to the police, "you should have the results in about twenty minutes. Big Mac here will take you back to CDU while you wait." Linda smiled again and then hurried off back down to the ED to help out with new casualties.

'Twenty minutes' Imi thought to herself, 'it's only twenty minutes, it'll be fine' she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else. She shut her eyes tightly as Big Mac wheeled her over to the lift, she felt sick, she just wanted to be at home, in her bed, texting her friends without a care in the world.

"Hello, I'm looking for Imogen Miller, can you tell me where she is?" A man sauntered over to reception,

"And who might you be?" Noel questioned without looking up from his computer screen, if he had he would have seen the look that crossed the man's face at that question, he hadn't expected to be asked that, foolish really, of course they would, they couldn't let anyone in off the streets.

"I'm her uncle, her father called to tell me he was stuck in traffic and wouldn't be able to get here yet, but her didn't want her to be alone so he called me." He paused, waiting for Noel's reaction, "Can I go and see her? I want to check how she is?"

"Of course you can," Noel looked up from his desk, "hey, Sam?" seeing Sam walking across to the lifts.

"Yes, Noel?" she said, stopping in her tracks to see what he wanted,

"This is Dr. Nicholls," he turned back to the man at reception, "she's the doctor looking after Imogen. Dr. Nicholls, this is Imogen's uncle. Could you take him to see her in CDU?"

"Of course, right this way Mr...?" Sam paused, waiting for him to fill in the gap and tell her his name,

"Miller, Daniel Miller." He said with a sickly sweet smile,

"Well, then, right this way Mr. Miller." Sam set off at a brisk pace leading him to CDU.

The first thing she noticed was his shoes."Someone here to see you Imi," Sam poked her head around the curtain which provided a small amount of privacy within the room, "your uncle." Sam smiled and walked away, "She's just in there." She said to Daniel, and with that she left again. Imi barely heard her, she had her eyes fixated on her shoes. She recognised them. She knew that much. She just couldn't remember where from.

Then the curtain opened. She was still looking at his shoes. "Hello _Imogen_." he emphasized her name with a sickening tone, "It's _nice_ to see you again, I didn't think it would be so soon though. No, I really didn't expect this." He smiled at her, and shut the curtain.

And that's when she looked up.

And that's when she finally tore her eyes away from his too familiar shoes.

And that's when she saw his face.

And that's when she recognised him.

And that's when she remembered the shoes.

And that's when a scream was trapped by a rough hand over her mouth and another around her delicate and already bruised throat.


	4. Chapter 4 'left foot, right foot'

_I know this is kinda short but I wanted to update it. I don't know how often updates are going to be from now on, I go back to school on thursday and I'm very busy over the next few weeks. I might write quite a few and put them up every other day or something so at least you have something to read. Reviews genuinley make my day so they're much appreciated :) Flashbacks are in italics_

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**Chapter Four '_Left foot, right foot.'_**

Sam made her way back down to the ED, it was good to give Imi some time with her uncle, he was her family after all. She stepped out of the lift and back into the loud arena of the ED, filled with a variety of people, from old drunks, to small children. 'People watching', it was a good way to pass the time, trying to read someone just by looking at them. But today there was no extra time to pass, the doors to the building burst open. "What've we got Dixie?" It was time to get back to work.

"Young male involved in an RTC, went into cardiac arrest on route, about 5 minutes ago."

"Right, Lloyd, can you give me a hand in Resus." Lloyd hurried over and took over chest compressions.

"Sam!" Zoe shouted across the room,

"Zoe I'm kind of busy right now." Sam retorted, couldn't she see she was in the middle of something.

"It's about Imogen," This made Sam look up, she couldn't explain why she had began to care so much for this girl, something about her made her different from the rest of patients.

"Lloyd can you keep up the chest compressions, I'll just get Tom." Sam ran out of Resus, "Tom!" she shouted, "Resus, young male, RTC, cardiac arrest." Tom ran through the double doors to Resus that were still swinging back and forth from where Sam had gone through, his hand was over his chest hold his stethoscope in place. "What's going on Zoe?" Sam had a look of concern on face as she spoke,

"Noel said Imogen's uncle came to visit her,"  
"Yes he did, what's wrong with that?" Sam then asked the question even though she had an idea what the answer would be, "You didn't call her parents did you?" her stomach flipped,

"No," Zoe replied, "I'm guessing you didn't either?"

"No." Sam said curtly, "Linda?" She asked in hope, yet she had a feeling the answer would be no,

"I've already asked her." Zoe and Sam exchanged a look, fear combined with anxiety, and Sam asked the question neither of them wanted to hear yet the one they both dearly wanted to know the answer to.

"So how did he know she was here?" She felt her stomach knotting, she didn't need an answer.

"Now, you're not going to tell anyone what happened today are you?" silence. "Are you?" he said again, this time viscously with his teeth gritted together. She shook her head. She couldn't speak, not only because his hand was covering her neck but also because she was terrified. His grip loosened slightly from around her neck, only slightly. "Good. We wouldn't want you to be in the morgue next time would we?" Again she managed to shake her head. She recognised the ring that he wore on his finger. It wasn't a wedding ring though, just a ring. He had scratches on his hands, and up his arms, they looked like they had been made by someone, someone trying to stop him.

_ It was cold that morning, Imogen had woken up early again, as she did most weekends. She got changed into her favourite pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Leaving a note on the kitchen work surface 'just going for a walk, I'll be back later. Imi x' she grabbed her coat and left. She lived in a comfortable suburban house in Holby, it was about 4 in the morning, most people would think she was crazy going for a walk at this time but she loved the fresh air. She took her favourite route down to the park, it involved going down one of the back alleys, but she'd always been fine, she lived in a nice, safe place. Her headphones were in so she didn't hear the footsteps behind her. Left foot, right foot. Gently humming along to her favourite song, she was lost in her own world. Left foot, right foot. It was slightly chilly outside that morning but she kept walking, it wasn't much further to the park. Left foot, right foot. She'd fallen out with her best friend the week before, all because some girls spread rumours that she was bitching about her. Left foot, right foot. The steps behind her were quickening. Her music was too loud for her to hear them though. Then the music stopped. Her headphones were hanging down from her iPod. And then she felt the sharp scrape of gravel against her cheek. And the weight on something on top of her. The weight of someone._

Sam and Zoe sprinted out of the lift, pushing past doctors and patients alike. "Where is she?" Sam shouted at Linda, she was so scared, she didn't know how that man was and he most certainly wasn't her uncle.

"Who Imi? She's just over there, with her uncle remember?" Linda couldn't see why Sam was so scared.

"Linda, I don't think he's her uncle. No one called her parents. There is no way he could know she was here." Sam ran over to the curtained off space where Imi was talking to her 'uncle'.

"Get away from her!" Sam screamed seeing him with his hand around her neck. Zoe phoned security. The man turned and faced Sam, he had a slight smirk on his face. He didn't move away from Imi. "I said, get away from her." through gritted teeth, she stared straight at him, she wasn't shouting, that's what made her sound more menacing. Sam didn't move her gaze from his frosty blue eyes. He laughed slightly. Looking back at Imi he smiled,

"See you later, _darling_" he had a sickening tone to his voice, overly sweet, so much so that he sounded intimidating and hostile. He winked and took his hand away from her face. "Goodbye Dr. Nicholls."

And then he ran.


	5. Chapter 5 'for now at least, he'd won'

_Here's the new chapter :) I really don't know how often updates are going to be from now on so I wrote a longer one that usual to make up for it, it's not much longer though. I really hope you guys like it, it's one of my favourite chapters I've written so far. Once again, reviews are really appreciated :)_

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**Chapter Five _'for now at least, he'd won'_**

He pushed Sam out of his way as he bolted through the room, she fell down backwards, there was nothing she could do now, he was gone. Security were looking for him but he wasn't planning on being found. He kept running until he was out of the ED. He laughed when he got outside, he knew he'd scared her. He walked away from the building, his black boots thumping against the paving stones on the ground, he was smiling, knowing that for now at least, he'd won.

"Sam are you okay?" Linda rushed over to her,

"Yeah," She paused looking at the terrified look on Imi's face "I'm fine." Sam said with her hand held against her head. Linda held out a hand to help Sam up, "It's fine Linda." Sam said sharply, she hated sympathy, "I can get up myself,"

"Just trying to help..." Linda was slightly annoyed at Sam's reaction to her attempt to be nice, but thinking about it, she shouldn't have expected any different.

"Imi," Sam crouched down next to her bed so their head were level, "who was that man?"

Imi was silent. She was just staring at her hands, picking at her nails. "Imi?" Sam asked again, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Imi flinched. She finally looked at Sam. She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, then shut it again, not having the strength to answer Sam. "Was he the man," Sam swallowed hard and forced herself to say the words, "who," she faltered again, seeing the anxiety that was tearing its way through Imi's mind, "who raped you?" Imi didn't look at her. She was just staring straight ahead, trying to force the lump in her throat to go away, trying to stop the tears from falling. Sam took her hand, "Please Imi, if it was, we can talk to the police, we can tell them what he looks like. We can find him. We can stop him hurting anyone else." Still Imi remained still. "I just need to know if that was him?" Imi didn't move her gaze from right in front of her, then she moved her head. Up. Down. She nodded.

"It was him." Her voice cracked, "It was him." She repeated. A tear rolled out of her eye and ran down her cheek, "I recognised the shoes." She shut her eyes "I remember seeing the shoes." She took a deep breath in "He told me," she hesitated, trying to stop the tears, "he told me that if I said anything," She finally turned her head back to face Sam who was still crouching next to her, holding her hand, "he would kill me."

Zoe came over holding her phone in her hand, "That was security, he got away." She looked at Imogen who looked terrified. Sam looked at Zoe and then back to Imi,

"We'll get you security Imi, we won't let him get anywhere near you." Sam forced a smile to try to comfort Imi and ensure her that things were going to be okay, even though she knew she was making a promise that she couldn't necessarily keep. "The police are going to want to talk to you, you're going to have to make a statement, and you might have to identify the man that attacked you." Sam was doing her best to keep it together, to keep her emotions in check, it wasn't her job to be emotionally involved, it was her job to save lives, not to get involved with them.

"Can you be with me?" Imi said the first thing since she'd told Sam who the man was. She turned to look at her, "When I talk to the police? I don't want to be there alone." Her voice faltered during the last part, she could feel the lump in her throat rising again.

"If you want me to be, I will." Sam squeezed Imi's hand, "Are you going to be okay if I go and see to my other patients?"

"What if he comes back?" Imi still couldn't stop looking at the place that he had stood. "What if he comes back, and this time, no one comes? What if-" Sam interrupted her,

"Imi, I promise you," Sam looked her directly in the eyes as she said this, "if he comes back, he will not get anywhere near you. I won't let him. I'll get security to come and stand by the doors, I'll give them his description, and Linda will be here, she knows what he looks like. And for now, we'll keep the curtains open. Everything's going to be okay." Sam was trying her best not to cry. She couldn't understand why she was so attached to this girl, maybe it was because she'd found her, lying alone, hurt, in an alleyway. It didn't really matter why, all that mattered was that she was safe. "We're also going to have to phone your parents, can you give me their number?"

"I don't want to have to tell them what happened, I can't face it."

"I'll tell them for you if you want me to, if that'd make it easier?" Imi nodded, "So what's the number?" Imi gave her the number and Sam went off to call them.

"Hi, Mrs Miller?" Sam paused, waiting for an answer. "I'm Dr. Samantha Nicholls from Holby ED, your daughter Imogen is in hospital at the moment. Yes, she's fine, but it'd be good if you could come and keep her company, she'll have to stay overnight for observation. Okay, see you soon, bye." Sam hung up the phone and went to find Noel to organise some security for Imi. "Hey, Noel. Could you call security and get a guy up to CDU. There was an incident earlier with one of my patients and it's safer if we have some security to make sure he doesn't come back."

"I'll call them. What does this guy look like?"

"Umm, short dark hair, blue eyes, tall, slim. He was wearing a blue shirt, black jeans, black boots, and a grey jacket. He was the man who came in earlier saying he was Imogen Miller's uncle."

"Okay, I'll give them his description. Who was he then?" Noel was intrigued by this mysterious figure that had managed to convince him that he was meant to be there.

"Her attacker." Sam said sharply, "Next time, try to make sure they're actually relatives. No one had even called her parents, it's your job to find out these things."  
"Sorry Sam, I just assumed he was meant to be here, he fooled me."  
"He fooled all of us. But we can't let it happen again." With that Sam walked away briskly.

"Oh, Sam, wait a sec?" Noel shouted after her,

"What is it Noel?"

"Some test results came back, Imogen Miller's CT scan."

"Oh, thanks Noel," Sam smiled at him and took the papers with the results on, "I'll go and tell her the results." Sam was shocked that she'd forgotten all about the scan. Amidst the chaos of the earlier events she had been so distracted that it completely slipped her mind. "Come on, Sam." She muttered to herself, "Get yourself together." She was annoyed at herself for getting so involved with a patient. It went against everything she'd ever been taught, and everything she'd done before. She'd always been good at keeping herself emotionally detached from her patients because she knew the dangers if she did.

"Hey again Imi," Sam walked up to her bed, "I've phoned your parents, they should be here soon." Imi didn't even react. "I've also got the results of your scan," Imi's head snapped up, for once she was listening, "it looks like everything's fine, no lasting damage."  
Imi let out a sigh of relief,"You might have minor concussion, but that should be fine in a few days."

"When can I go?" it was the strongest she'd sounded all day,

"We're going to keep you in overnight for observation, but after that you should be good to go." Imi smiled for the first time since Sam had found her that morning. Sam glanced backwards and saw the two police officers who she'd met earlier, she hadn't bothered learning their names. One of them nodded at her, giving the signal that they wanted to talk to Imogen. "Imi," Sam started, "the police are outside, they want to talk to you." She felt Imi tense up, she wrapped her arms around herself. "Maybe it's better to just get it out of the way," Sam was doing her best to try and convince her, "I'll come with you, if you still want me to?" Imi nodded. "Okay, I'll just get you a chair and we'll go down to the office to talk to them."

"Sam?" Imi looked up at her, "I'm scared Sam. I'm really scared."


	6. Chapter 6 'I should've stopped him'

_I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I've updated this, but I went back to school on thursday and things have been really busy. I've also had a bit of writers block. I hope this is worth the wait. It's short but I really wanted to get something up. Hopefully I'll get some done on the long drive I've got this weekend, but I won't make any promises. I hope I'll be able to update at least once a week but it depends how school goes. Thanks for being patient._

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**Chapter Six _'I should've stopped him'_**

Sam and Imi were sat side by side in Zoe's office, the two police officers sat opposite them, staring at Imi. "Can you take us through everything that happened that day Imogen?" The crisp voice of the male officer dragged Imi from wherever her mind had wandered off to.

Imi took a deep breath and looked at Sam, who smiled at her reassuringly and squeezed her hand. "I left my house that morning, to go for a walk. It was early, but I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I got my iPod and left a note on the kitchen table. I was just walking through the streets, trying to clear my head. I'd had an argument with this girl at school the day before. Then he jumped me." Her voice faltered ever so slightly, she swallowed hard and carried on. "I could feel him on top of me. I tried to scream but I couldn't, I was just so scared. I could hear him breathing on top of me, he smelt really bad, like alcohol." She shut her eyes for a second trying stop the tears that were fighting to roll down her cheeks, "He turned me over and put his hand around my throat before I could scream. He was kneeling on my legs so I couldn't get up." She stopped. Just staring into space across the room, she was scratching her hands.

"What happened after that?" The female police officer tried to be gentle with Imi as she knew this must be so hard for her but she needed to know what had happened.

"He, he ra-" She stopped again. She looked at Sam who hadn't said a word so far. She looked at the police officers, staring at her waiting for her to say those words. She just couldn't. It was admitting that her life was never going to be the same. Admitting that she'd lost her virginity to a man in an alleyway. Admitting that she wasn't strong enough to stop him. "Nothing happened." She said stronger than ever. "Nothing happened. I made it up. Okay? I made it up!" She was shouting now. Then she just broke down and started crying. "I just want all of this to be over. I just want things to be normal." Sam hugged her, not an action she was used to doing, but it seemed right, she couldn't just leave Imi there crying.

"I know you want it to be over Imi, I know. But this isn't the way to do it. If you don't press charges, you'll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. We can put him behind bars forever. You just have to tell them what happened?" Sam knew she had to convince her now or she might never report it.

"I can't. I just can't" Imi was trying to stop herself from crying, choking on the tears.  
"You have to." Imi pulled away from Sam and turned to face the officers,

"He raped me. He held me down and he raped me. And there was nothing I could do." She sat back down shaking from what she had just admitted, "I couldn't stop him," she was muttering now, "I should've stopped him."

"This isn't your fault Imi. This really isn't your fault."

"Thank you Imogen, that'll be all for now. We will be in touch." With that the officers smiled and marched out of the room leaving Sam and Imi alone.

"Your parents will be here soon,"

"I don't want them to see me like this. Can you tell them what happened? I can't, I just can't." Her voice trailed off as she felt the tears coming back. Sam nodded and hugged her again,

"When you're ready, we'll take you back to CDU, we're going to have to keep you under observation over night."  
"Okay." Imi stood up and lowered herself back into the chair which would take her back to that lonely bed in CDU. "I don't want to stay here any longer."

I'm Elizabeth Miller, I had a phone call saying my daughter was here, Imogen Miller?" A flustered woman was standing impatiently at reception,

"Ahh yes," Noel looked up from his flickering computer screen, "Imogen is in CDU at the moment, I'll just page Dr. Nicholls to come down and talk to you."

"Is she okay? Can you tell me what happened?" Noel could see that she was worried,

"I'm afraid I can't give you any answers, but Dr. Nicholls will talk you through everything. You can wait just over there for her to come down."

Sam walked down into the reception and went straight to Noel,

"Elizabeth Miller is here, Imogen's mum." He said pointing in her direction,

"Thanks Noel," Sam smiled and walked over to where the woman was sitting nervously tapping her foot on the floor. "Mrs Miller?" Sam held out her hand, "I'm Dr. Sam Nicholls, I'm treating your daughter."

"Is she okay? What happened?" She ignored Sam's outstretched hand.

"If you could just come with me to the office, I'll explain everything to you in there." Sam led the woman into Zoe's office where she had sat more times than she would have liked to that day, "Take a seat," Sam gestured to the chairs in front of her,

"Where's Imogen?" Mrs Miller looked worried, lines appearing on her face.


	7. Chapter 7 'Just like in the alley way'

_I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, I said I'd try to do one every week but I've been so busy, it's rediculous. I've had a lot going on in my personal life, and I didn't have time to write. Anyway here's the latest chapter, it's the shortest so far but I really wanted to do an update. I hope you like it, I'm starting to get into of the story lines I've planned. Enjoy!_

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**Chapter Seven _'Just like in the alley way'_**

"I know it's a shock, but you have to try to help Imi get through this, she needs you." Sam was managing to keep her voice calm and herself collected. "I found her this morning, on my way to work, she was-" Sam was cut off,

"Why wasn't I called earlier?" her voice wasn't cracking, she seemed totally emotionless, she wasn't worried anymore, Sam found it strange,

"We didn't think it was necessary to call you until we'd had a chance to check Imi was over, and for the police to talk to her." Everything she'd been taught, coming into practice. Tell them what they need to know. No more. No less. Keep calm. Keep professional. It was just a shame she couldn't keep to the last rule; 'Don't get too attached to patients'. "Mrs Miller, you have to understand, your daughter's safety was our priority, we were trying to look after her best interests."

"Can I see her?" Elizabeth Miller was sitting there, no sense of sadness of worry showing on her face, completely calm, completely, nothing.

"Of course, I'll just take you up to her now. She's in CDU at the moment, we will have to keep her under observation overnight." Sam stood up and held the door open for Elizabeth, gesturing for her to go out.

The noise in the lift sounded as Sam and Mrs Miller arrived at the floor which CDU is situated on. Sam stepped through the swinging double doors and glanced over to Imi's bed. She looked back at Mrs Miller about to lead her over, then she processed what she'd seen. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she looked again. Empty Bed.

"Linda!" Sam shouted, looking around for the woman who was mean to be taking care of Imi whilst Sam was gone, "Linda, where is she?" Sam brushed her hair away from her forehead, looking back at Mrs Miller,

"What's going on, Dr. Nicholls, where's Imogen?"

Sam and Linda exchanged a look, "Mrs Miller," Sam started,

"She just popped to the loo, she should be back soon." Sam looked in confusion at Linda, her eyes widened slightly and Sam understood.

"If you would like to wait here until she gets back. I'll be back soon, I have another patient to see to. Linda, can you give me a hand in cubicles?"

Sam and Linda walked away, keeping their conversation silent until they were out of the doors. "When did you last see her?" Sam asked Linda,

"She was in her bed, I was only gone a few minutes, I'm sorry Sam." Linda looked upset, upset that she'd not kept a close enough eye on Imi.

"It's okay Linda, lets just concentrate on finding her. I'll check the bathrooms first, can you ask Noel to check with the other doctors if they've seen her?" Sam was taking charge again, it was how she liked it to be. Linda nodded and headed off in the other direction.

Sam made her way quickly to the bathrooms, taking care not to bump into anyone as she hurried past. She had that sinking feeling in her stomach, she knew something bad was going to happen. She pushed open the door, hearing a bang as the metal handle hit the tiled wall. Three doors. "Imi? Are you in here?" Sam shouted, walking over to the first door. "Imi?" she touched the door, it swung open. Empty. She tried the next door. Locked. Panicking she tried to force it open, she was so scared that her hands were shaking too much to manage to get it open. Going back to the first door, she climbed onto the toilet seat and looked over the top of the dividing wall. There was blood. A lot of blood. And a body. A small body. Alone. Just like in the alley way. Only this time, someone else didn't cause the damage.


	8. Chapter 8 'she's just a kid'

_This chapter isn't that long, or action packed, but I'm pleased with the description at the end. I wanted to give you something because I feel like I don't update enough, I really hope you like it. Reviews are always appreciated, as are PMs. Feel free to chat to me anytime :) I'm really not that bad once you get to know me ;)_

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**Chapter Eight _'she's just a kid'_**

Sam felt her stomach twist inside of her; she'd been a doctor long enough to know what happened. Then again, you didn't have to be a doctor to know what went on here.

"Help!" She yelled, running over to the door, "I need some help in here!" She could hear the rush of footsteps as Zoe ran in, her pink high heels echoing over the cold tiles, she had no idea what she would find when she walked into the cubicle. Sam was kneeling over Imi, trying to stop the bleeding, she was unconscious.

"We've got to get her to Resus. She's losing blood, I don't know how much, but she's unconscious, and that's not a good sign." Sam was just doing her job, she kept telling herself this was just like any other day, any other teenager could be lying here. Why did it matter who it was? Zoe nodded and ran out, her pink heels knocking against the tiles, if only everything could go in reverse. Soon enough Imi was lying in a bed in Resus, bandages around her arms, Zoe and Sam standing over her. "Imi," Sam sighed, she was looking down on her, not in a bad way, in a worried way, in an almost maternal way.

"I don't want your pity, or your sympathy." Imi refused to make eye contact, she just lay there, staring at the bandages on her arms, masking the damage she'd caused.

"I'm not here to pity you." Sam was being as professional as she could, but it still wasn't enough. Zoe looked at her, they exchanged a look, a dialogue within the eyes and Sam started walking away from Imi. Brushing her hair from out of her eyes, noticing the dried blood beneath her fingernails, the blood that should be running through Imi's veins. Her clammy palm was placed on the cold metal door, ready to push it open;

"Why didn't you leave me there?" Sam stopped. "Couldn't you see it was what I wanted?" She could feel herself losing it. "I wanted to die, you should've let me."

Sam turned around and marched over to the bed. "I have seen so many people die. People who didn't have a choice. I went to Afghanistan, I've seen children younger than you blown up by a bomb. They didn't choose to die. I've had to break the news to families that their child has died. Death, is permanent. If I'd left you there, that'd be it. You'd be dead. Your friends, your family, they'd never see you again. You're fourteen, and you wanted to end your life. Did you think about what people around you would go through?" Sam could see Imi was about to cry, "I'm not saying what happened to you wasn't bad, but it's not worth killing yourself over, nothing ever is. I'm not here to preach to you or anything, but from where I'm standing, I've seen so many people die, right where you're lying now, they'd give anything to be alive. I'm not going to let you make that choice." Zoe grabbed Sam's shoulder,

"Just leave it now yeah?" Zoe gestured to the door and Sam followed her out, "I know you're upset bu-" She was cut off,

"She tried to kill herself!" Sam was shouting now, "I should've seen the signs," her voice lowered, "I should've seen it, she's just a kid." And with those words, Sam left, she couldn't be around there anymore. It was too hard.

His boots were covered in mud. The black laces tied in a double knot, slightly frayed round the edges from when they were too long and he stepped on them. It's weird, how many memories an item of clothing has, or a pair of shoes. So many people have seen them, and reacted to them. The crinkled leather, slightly scuffed around the edges. A million stories to tell within the creased material, stories that may never leave the confines of the rubber soles. His coat was long, covering the bottom of the blue t-shirt he was wearing, the black material of his coat shielding his torso from the gentle droplets of rain running down from the sky, racing, who would make it first, who would hit the ground first. Then they die. When they hit the ground, they explode, they break up. Their first and final act was to fall, splattering on the ground, or on faces, or clothes. What a short life. You never really think about these things; the gravel crushed beneath his leather-clad feet, the small stone pushing down on one-another, seeing who was wind was slight, causing a faded posted to flutter on the fence next to him, advertising a carnival in June; someone must have forgotten to take it down. All these things seemed so meaningless to him, after everything. His hair was dark, framing his gaunt face. His eyes, however, they were light, piercing, if you want to use that word; they were more empty than anything else. His lips were cracked and pale, the matched his complexion, pallid, dry, emotionless, nothing.

His pink tongue licked the broken skin around his lips. Lifting up his hand to wipe a raindrop running down his forehead having dripped off his greasy, lank, hair; he showed a tattoo of a key, it looked old, like something you would find in a museum, following the bone running up to his thumb. His fingernails had mud underneath them, specked with flecks of blood. He looked up at the sign straight ahead, 'Ditches Road'. To anyone else this would be totally insignificant. His black boots walked along the gravel. The air smelt the same, everything seemed the same. His hands moved down into his pockets, taking a sharp breath through his nose. He looked past the sign, to the brown fencing, and a path running on a tangent from the road, 'Ditches Road' what a 'nice' place this was.


	9. Chapter 9 'she felt her charade slip up'

_I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in about a month, I hadn't realised it'd been this long. I hope this makes it up to you guys though and I hope you like the latest chapter :) Hopefully there'll be another update this week because I'm in York and I always feel so creative when I'm up here :) Anyway I hope you enjoy it and reviews are much appreciate :) feel free to PM me with any questions, advice, opinions or whatever :)_

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**Chapter Nine_ 'she felt her charade slip up'_**

He glanced to his left, and then to his right; he was alone. A smile edged onto his pallid face, it looked out of place against the prominent cheekbones and the gaunt structure. He saw the faint blood stain on the gravel path. He lifted the container he held at his side and emptied the contents onto the ground, splashing it against the fence beside him. Checking again that he was alone, he lit a match that he had pulled from his pocket and dropped it on the ground watching the fire spread, quickly engulfing the alleyway. Then, he walked away.

The smoke floated into the air, the grey cloud spreading out as it rose up, mixing with the air that we breathe. The sound of footsteps was getting louder, someone had seen the smoke. Calmly, he walked away. He didn't want to draw any attention to himself, or to the knife in his coat pocket. Looking around him, he could see that he was now alone, the sound of footsteps fading into the distance. His hand was clasped around the handle of his knife, still concealing it in his pocket. The cold weather didn't bother him, nor did the rain. His mind was only focusing on one thing. His heart beat didn't even quicken. This wasn't a new experience for him.

Sam was struggling and Zoe could see that but she knew that Sam was too concerned with her pride to admit that she was upset by what had happened to Imi, she could see how desperate she was to stay professional. "Dr. Nicholls," Sam looked up from the notes she was holding, "could I have a word with you in my office when you have a minute?"

"I'm really busy at the moment Zoe, is it important?"

"I just wanted to see how you were after what happened earlier,"

"I'm fine Zoe, it's just been a long day." Sam walked briskly away over to cubicle 4 where her patient was sitting. Zoe didn't bother to try to stop her, it was easier just to leave it.

"Dr. Hanna?" Two police officers marched over to her, "Is Dr. Nicholls around, we want to have a word with her about her patient Imogen Miller?" The man had an authoritative tone, his posture was too straight to be natural. Zoe could tell how seriously he took his work,

"I think she's just in one of cubicles. I'll let her know you're here." With a nod the police officers sat down in the waiting area, their radios buzzing slightly.

Sam was just pulling the curtain back across the cubicle as Zoe walked up to her, "Sam?"

"Yes, Dr. Hanna?" Sam was clearly trying to be as professional as possible,

"There's two police officers outside wanting to speak to you about Imogen?"

"Tell them I'm busy." Sam said briskly, she pushed past Zoe heading towards the staff room.

"What's going on Sam, you're usually so..." She was cut off by the sharp voice of Sam,

"So what? Calm? Detached? Professional?" Her voice was close to shouting. She managed to bring it back down to a regular volume, "Maybe there's more to me than you know, Zoe. Am I not allowed to show emotion?" Despite her voice being at a normal volume there was still a bitter tone to it, cutting at Zoe.

"You know I didn't mean it like that Sam. I was just worried that's all."

"You have no need to be. I'm perfectly fine." Sam still had her guard up, her icy tone was ever present. "where are those police officers that want to talk to me?"

"I thought you were busy?" Zoe said sarcastically with a smirk on her face,

"Don't push me today. I'm not in the mood." Sam retorted, sharp as ever. The smile was erased from her face only seconds after it appeared,

"They're over in reception." Zoe was fed up of Sam having such a short-temper, she just couldn't take a joke.

"Ah, Dr. Nicholls," The male police officer stood up to shake her hand, "Can we talk in private?" As it had been for the last few meetings, Sam led both officers to Zoe's office where they sat down in the same chairs as hours before. "There's been a fire in the alleyway where Imogen Miller was found, it's suspected arson and has destroyed all evidence of the attack." Sam felt her stomach twist itself into a tight knot, "We are going to start looking for the man responsible for the attack on Imogen and we will be using the image generated by the descriptions given by both Imogen and staff here, including you, and the CCTV footage from the hospital. We just thought it was appropriate to let you know what was going on because you're the doctor treating Imogen." His voice was almost entirely monotone, he seemed too emotionless for the job he was doing but Sam guessed that came with experience from dealing with these sort of cases, learning to just put your emotions to one side.

"Thank you for updating me on the situation," Sam was trying to match his professionalism by standing up straight and talking in a formal manner, "I have some other patients which I need to see now but thank you for your time." She lent forwards and shook his hand firmly giving an obviously forced smile, almost painfully so, and marched out of the stuffy room.

Sam quickly walked to the toilets and locked herself in the far cubicle, as far away from the one which Imi was found in as she could. She felt her charade slip up as her tough exterior disappeared. She lent against the cold tile wall next to her, her heart was pounding in her chest thinking back to when she had found Imi just metres away from where she was sitting now. She was struggling to breathe. Her chest was tightening as her breaths became short and sharp like her tone with Zoe earlier. She tried to make her breaths deeper and slower but it wasn't working. All she could think of was Imi lying there her sleeves soaked in blood. It'd been the first time she'd seen someone like that as a doctor and it'd shocked her to see a fourteen year old girl just lying there. Her heart was still pounding inside her ribcage. She felt sick to her stomach and her breathing was strained and shallow. She could feel the darkness creeping into her vision, dark patches appearing in front of her eyes. She was too out of breath to call for help. There wasn't anything that she could do but sit there watching herself fall into unconsciousness.


	10. Chapter 10 'she just wanted to be alone'

_Wow, i've actually written another update aha. It's not very action packed but I'm just trying to get a bit more background information to set up for other storylines but hopefully the next chapter will be a bit faster pace. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading the latest chapter in Involved By Chance :)_

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**Chapter Ten_ 'she just wanted to be alone.'_**

"Sam, can you hear me?" She was vaguely aware of voice but it seemed too far away to be talking to her. "Sam? Wake up, it's Zoe. Can you hear me?" There was a thudding pain in the side of her head. "You were unconscious in the toilets, Linda found you. Can you tell me what happened?" She forced her eyes to open and squinted up at the two faces looming above her. "We think you had a panic attack. Can you tell us what happened?" Everything seemed fuzzy and out of focus, she noticed that there was an oxygen mask over her mouth. "Sam, I'm going to take off your oxygen mask now okay?" Zoe's voice was louder than before, Sam felt herself becoming more aware of her surroundings. "I want you to sit up for me," Sam automatically followed her colleague's orders. Zoe shined her torch into Sam's eyes, "Can you tell me what happened?" Sam finally managed to answer through the pain in her head,

"I can't remember. I'm fine, I probably just fainted."

"Either way, you'll have to have be checked over to make sure you're okay." Sam sighed,

"Really Zoe, I'm fine." She just wanted to get back to work and not have to listen to a torrent of questions.

"Any pains?" Zoe seemed to ignore Sam's insistence that she was okay, "Any at all?"

"I've got a headache, but that's it. I'm fine, can I just go back to work?" Sam started getting up from her bed before being pushed back down by Zoe,

"You're going to have to wait. I'll book you a scan to check that there wasn't any damage caused to your head by the fall."  
"Zoe, I said I'm fine." Zoe just ignored her and asked Linda to book Sam a head CT before pulling back the curtain of the cubicle and hurrying over to the latest patient brought in by Dixie and Jeff. A stab victim, a young girl, looked about sixteen, maybe younger.

"This is Amy Jackson, aged about fifteen or sixteen. Stab wound to the left side of her stomach." Jeff's voice sounded authoritative over the chaos of the ED,

"Are there any other injuries?" Zoe was doing her best to take control of the situation, trying to distract herself from thinking about what was really going on with Sam.

"bruising to wrists and upper arms, kind of like that girl we brought in earlier." Jeff wheeled the trolley into Resus where Amy would have to be treated due the seriousness of her injuries.

"Were there any signs of a sexual assault?" Zoe quietly asked Dixie so that Amy wouldn't be able to hear her,

"Not that I noticed. It is possible though, especially with the bruising to her wrists." Dixie had the concerned look of a mother on her face despite having no children of her own she always seemed quite maternal especially compared to some of the other staff in the department.

Imi and her Mum were sitting together in silence. Imi had been moved back up to CDU after she was stabilised and now she wanted more than anything to just be away from there, away from here mum. She just wanted to be alone. The doctors had said that she needed to see a counsellor to talk about what had happened and that she would have to stay in for a least two nights so that they could monitor her and make sure that she wasn't going to attempt anything like she had before. "Mum?" Imi didn't even bother trying to make eye contact, she knew it wouldn't be returned. "I'm really sorry..." Her voice trailed off, she knew there was no point in trying to start a conversation. Her Mum was having one of her 'episodes' and Imi knew enough to not try to talk to her. They'd never been close and Imi never felt like she could really talk to her. Her Dad wasn't around much, he was away a lot because of his job, he was soldier in the army. She knew he'd be disappointed in her if he was there, he'd always been so strong and she was never was. All she could think about was _his_ face. _He'd_ probably always be there at the back of her mind, along with the memories.

Zoe, with the help of Tom, had managed to stabilise Amy and she was now being moved up to ICU where she would have to stay for a while whilst she recovered. The same two police officers that were dealing with Imi's case were standing outside of Resus waiting to speak to Amy. Zoe glanced at them from Amy's side and pulled up the metal railing of the bed on her side before allowing her to be wheeled out by a porter and taken up to the Intensive Care Unit. Her and Tom walked out together and were stopped by the two officers waiting just outside of the doors, "How is she?" The female officer asked,

"She's stable for now, but still in a critical condition." Tom replied, he had a good rapport with people, he was charismatic and people warmed to him easily.

"Do you know much about what happened?" It was the male officer who asked this time.

"All we know is that she was found at the side of Blackburn Road by a woman who said she just found her there and she was unconscious. She had a stab wound to her left side and bruising to her wrists and upper arms. It's likely she was attacked and she tried to fight back but was stabbed during the struggle and her attacker then ran away and left her."

"Blackburn Road, that's near where Imogen Miller was found. There could be a connection there." The male police officer voiced his thoughts, Zoe was thinking exactly the same. "Thank you for your time Dr..." He glanced at Tom's badge, "Kent, and Dr. Hanna, you've been very helpful. Do you have any idea when we will be able to speak to Amy about the attack?"

"Well she's unconscious at the moment and has just been moved up to Intensive Care so it could be a while until she comes round and even then there's no knowing how much she'll actually remember of the attack." Tom was very professional, even when he was under a lot or pressure or feeling the emotional side-effects of his chosen career, the police officer respected that, as did everyone else at the hospital; they knew how hard it is to remain emotionally detached from cases.

"Okay, thank you Dr. Kent, if you could contact us when she is able to talk to us that'd be helpful to our investigation." He nodded curtly and marched out of the ED along with the other officer. Tom looked at Zoe,

"Do you think it was the same guy who attacked her as who attacked Imi?"

"It could be, I really don't know." Zoe pushed her hair away from her forehead, "I need a coffee."


	11. Chapter 11 'June of that year'

_Hey, here's the latest update. Just a warning, there is mention of suicide in here so if you are triggered but that then you might not want to read it but it doesn't go into much detail. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter._

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**Chapter Eleven ****_'June of that year'_**

Sam was sitting on the bed in the cubicle with her legs crossed, eyes staring into the folds of the fabric of the blue curtains that surrounded her. She was waiting for her test results, she hated waiting around when she was meant to be working. She wanted to check that Imi was okay. She was worried about her. Her usual tough and seemingly emotionless exterior was gone. It was replaced by a silent and thoughtful appearance as she sat staring straight ahead. "Sam," She looked up and saw Zoe standing in front of her holding a piece of white paper with writing that she couldn't quite make out on it. "I've got your test results. It looks like there's no damage done, you're lucky. But you need to go home and relax, take the rest of your shift off."

"I'm fine Zoe. I need to finish my shift." Sam was angry that Zoe didn't seem to have enough faith in her to let her keep working.

"Sam, go home." She spoke more forcefully this time, "You don't have a choice, get some rest and come back tomorrow."

"What about Imi?"

"I'll make sure she's well looked after. Please Sam, you passed out, you can't work today."

"Fine. I'll go." Sam slid off the bed and pulled open the curtain with a significant amount of force. "See you tomorrow." She muttered as she walked over to the staff room door to collect her bag.

Her flat was empty as always, she lived alone. She placed her keys in a ceramic bowel by the sink in the kitchen. She wandered over to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom to get some Nurofen for the headache she was still suffering from. Swigging some water to make the two red pill slide down her throat more easily she thought back to when she fourteen, the same age as Imi. Under her bed was an old shoe box from a pair of trainers she'd bought for sport at school after her old ones had got too small for her feet. Her hand grabbed the edge of this box and pulled it out from under the wooden frame of the bed that was pushed against one wall in her small bedroom. Her hand lifted open the lid, she was shaking slightly. A dark blue notebook was at the top of a pile of similar looking books that were stacked in the box. She remembered exactly what it was. After flipping open the covers of the five or so books in the box she found the one from the year she turned fifteen. The first page gave the year and her age. The second held a short paragraph dated the first of January.

_I'm not the sort of person who writes 'Dear Diary' at the top of each entry. It seems a bit stupid if you ask me. The diary isn't a real person, it's an object, a book. New Years Day today, everyone's talking about the fresh start that this year is going to be. I think they could be right. I turn fifteen in March. I don't really make New Years Resolutions but if I did this year's one would probably be about getting good grades and working hard. I don't really know what I want to do with my life, but I've got time to figure it out. Anyway, it's a new year, might as well make it something._

Her finger traced over the blue ink that the words were written in. She had changed so much since then. She flicked over to the next page; twentieth of January.

_School's been busy. I'm worried about Hollie though, she seems, I don't know, sad. She's always been one of the happiest girls I know. It's weird, all of this. I just don't really understand what's going on with her. Everything's just a bit of a mess right now. I'm managing to keep up with my school work though, just. Things at home aren't great. There's a lot of arguments with my parents. There's so much pressure from them._

She sighed, she never really was one to write much. She'd changed a lot since she was fourteen. She didn't really know what she wanted to do then but then everything changed. She flipped to the June of that year; first of June.

_I can't believe it. I went to school this morning and went to my classroom, it was form time and then the deputy head came in and said that she had an announcement to make. I remember exactly what she said. "I have some terrible news, last night Hollie Stevens committed suicide. I'm very sorry for all of you that knew her well, I know this must be hard on you. There will be grief counseling available through the school if you need it." And then she left. I just felt totally numb. I don't know what to do. She's gone and she's never coming back. I should of seen it coming. We'd argued and now she's dead._

Sam couldn't read on any further. Her palms were sweating and she felt dizzy. All that had happened with Imi had just brought back memories of when she had found out the Hollie had killed herself. She didn't know what to do or say. She was just sitting there, reliving it all out in her mind, over and over again. She threw the book across the room and lay back on her bed, crying, silently. She had tried to push it to the back of her mind for so long that now that it was all coming back it was hard for her to take. She realised how much that day had changed her, she'd decided she wanted to do something that was useful to society, to help people like Hollie, people that were hurt. A doctor seemed like the obvious choice to her and then when she later saw that she could join the army as a medic she jumped at the chance, knowing that amidst the gunfire and the fighting she might be able to forget about Hollie and forget about what happened.


	12. Chapter 12 'the cold and detached person

_I'm so sorry that it's been over a month since I last updated. I'm not going to make a load of excuses but I just didn't know what to write. I really hope you like this update and it was worth the wait. I hope you don't find all of this too confusing but I promise it will make sense in the end. I don't know how many chapters this will have, it might end up being about 20 or so chapters but it could be more, depends how I think it's going. One other thing, I want to say something to the guest who commented "Rubbish" On this story, I don't mind criticism as long as you say how I can improve and change it to make it better, but I don't appreciate comments like that that just insult my work. Anyway, enjoy!_

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**Chapter Twelve**_ '__**the cold and detached person'**_

The mug from last night was sitting idly on the desktop in Sam's small flat, the rim was stained a brown colour and the remnants of the caffeinated drink were dried against the inside. Her bedroom was a mess, it wasn't usually but she had stayed up all the night before just trying to work out what was going on inside her head. She didn't understand how she was feeling, it was exactly like when she was fifteen, not that she'd tell anyone that of course, no, she was far too proud to do that. Work seemed the best option to take her mind off the small book that lay on her bedside table. She could feel the vibrating of her phone underneath her pillow, she fumbled around for it and clasped its metallic frame seeing the little 'new message' icon appear on the bright screen. 'Hey,' the message read, 'sorry if I woke you.' It hadn't, 'it's Linda, I phoned your landline but you didn't answer, I wanted to check how you were after yesterday. I know that it was tough for you with Imi, if you ever need someone to talk to (I know you don't like talking)," True, "You know where I am. Linda xx." There was no point in replying, time to get ready for work.

"Sam," Zoe marched over to the double doors, Sam stopped and let her posture droop slightly,

"Look Zoe, whatever I've done, I'm not in the mood now, I'm really not."

"I just wanted to check you were okay?" Zoe smiled at Sam, trying to be nice to her,

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sam pushed past her, "I've got work to do." She bowed her head and pushed the door of the staff room open letting her pulse gently lower from the quick rhythm it had reached.

She felt at home in her scrubs, the unflattering fit of the uniform didn't bother her, she just wanted to do her job. "Hey Zoe," Sam put on her best, but still forced, smile, "Is it okay if I just go and check on Imi? I want to see how she'd doing." Zoe nodded and Sam hurried over to the lift.

"Hey Imi," Sam pulled back the light blue curtains of the cubicle in which Imi had been lying in for the last day or so. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." Imi barely looked up at Sam, "Why'd you call the psych ward about me? Now I have to talk to some counsellor."

"I had to." She paused, looking down at Imi's fragile frame on the bed, she didn't belong there. "It's my job." There was so much more she could have said, she could have said how it was because she cared, because she'd lost her best friend to suicide as a teenager and she didn't want Imi to go the same way. But she didn't. She just told her it was her job. Now she was becoming the cold and detached person that her training had taught her to be, whether that was a good thing or bad thing, she couldn't decide.

"How long am I going to be stuck here?" Imi asked Sam, "I just want to go home."

"I'm not sure yet, your OBS seem fine and your bruises seem to be healing well. But because of the suicide attempt you may have to stay in longer, and you might be transferred down to a Psych ward."  
"Great, so now I'm crazy." Imi's cheeks were burning from both the embarrassment of the previous day's events and from the hot tears that were leaving trails down her face.

"I didn't-" Imi cut Sam off,

"It's what you think though. It's what everyone's going to think. My mum already hates me. She doesn't need a psycho daughter to look after."

"I'll be back in an hour to check on you." Sam didn't know what to say, so much of what Imi was saying reminded her of Hollie.

"Sam?" Zoe walked over to her, "Can I have a word with you in the office?" Sam didn't bother trying to argue about it, she simply followed Zoe into the room in which she had spent more time than she would have liked to over the last two days. "It's about the girl who was brought in earlier, she says she knows you?

"Which girl?" Sam looked confused,

"Amy Jackson, she was brought in with a stab wound to her abdomen. She's conscious and stable now but in intensive care. She said that she wanted to talk to you?"  
"I don't know an Amy Jackson. I'll go and see her anyway."

"Ask Linda and she'll show you where she is."

"Sam," Linda pulled back the curtains, "This is Amy." The girl had dark brown hair and a similar colour eyes,

"Linda, can you give us a minute?" Sam was staring at the girl lying in the bed. She was barely awake, all these tubes and wires coming out of her, it was a sight you could never get used to. "Rachel, what are you doing here?" She paused looking at the name written on the whiteboard above her bed, "And why do they think your name is Amy Jackson?"


	13. Chapter 13 'numbers scrawled on it'

_Hey again, I'll try to update again on thursday but probably not tomorrow, I'll see how it goes. I hope you like this chapter and it should explain a bit more who these people are that have been mentioned. I hope you get who Rachel is but you might have to reread one of the previous chapters to remember :) I hope you like this update and sorry it's short again but I wanted to leave it there. Reviews are much appreciated :)_

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**Chapter Thirteen_ 'numbers scrawled on it'_**

The click of the lock was the only sound within that room. He lived alone, he had for years. He didn't think he needed anyone else, he was happier by himself. He sat down on the armchair in the corner, pushing back his hair with his callused hands. His face was sweaty, he was nervous, constantly on edge. A knock, "No, no, no, no." He was whispering to himself, "No, they can't be here. No." He'd never been so scared. His usual confidence and sinisterness was gone. He was like a small boy, scared and alone.

"Open the door, it's James." He recognised the voice, it wasn't the shouting he was expecting, the police smashing down the door, running into the flat. No, it was someone else, someone he knew.

"James?" He sat up,

"Yeah, let me in. People are starting to stare." He rapped his hand on the wood again. The man stood up and walked over to the door, cautiously unlocking it and pulling the sliver handle down. He opened it slightly, it was still on the chain, he wasn't taking any chances. The face that greeted him looked as scared as he did. His shaking hand made it hard to pull off the chain but he knew he had to. "What the hell are you playing at? Someone could of seen me." James was shouting, pushing the man against the wall violently. The man stared back at him,

"Fourteen years old. Fourteen. There is no way you'll get away with this. James, what the hell are we going to do?"

"I went to the hospital," He took a step back, letting his breathing slow down slightly

"You what?"

"She's not going to tell anyone, I made sure of that." His confidence seemed misplaced given the current tone of the conversation.

"They'll have you on camera now, they'll find you."

"I destroyed all the evidence, they have no proof." He was desperately trying to condone his actions,

"Apart from your face." He was shouting now,

"Luke, I'm sorry."

"Do you have any idea how scared I am. There is no way I'm going down for this. They'll work out who you are. They'll work out who I am and then we're both screwed."

"Rachel, tell me what's going on?" Sam was worried, she knew this girl but she didn't know how she had come to be here and how she was thought to be called Amy.

"Sam, I'm sorry." She could barely talk, she'd managed to take the oxygen mask off but it was still hard. "He followed me and I couldn't stop him."

"Who followed you?" Sam was managing to make her voice sound calm, she'd had the practice.

"I had my friend's train pass, she's called Amy. I guess they found that and think I'm her."

"I'll go and talk to them, I'll explain what happened. They'll have to phone your parents, do you have their number?"

"It's in my phone, over there." Rachel said, pointing to the object next to her bed. "Don't tell them everything, I don't want them to worry about me." Sam smiled at her but didn't say anything else.

"Hey Sam," Linda hurried over to her, "what's the deal with Amy, how do you know her?"

"Her name's not Amy for a start, it's Rachel, Rachel Stevens. She had her friend's train pass and the paramedics must have used that to ID her. Can you sort it out on the system and call her parents, I've got the number here." Sam handed Linda a small piece of paper with a series of numbers scrawled on it, "You might also want to inform the police."

"Of course." Linda said in her usual happy tone, it seemed rather inappropriate for the circumstances.

And the ED returned to its normal chaos, new patients being brought in, new injuries to deal with. The double doors rarely remained shut, the constant flow of patients leaving them swinging back and forth, not having a chance to stop before the next person pushed against the metal handle. "Sam?" Tess was walking over holding a brown folder, "Could you take a look at the man in cubicle five, I'm querying a sprained wrist,

"Sure, whats his name?"

"Luke Johnson."

"Thanks," Sam briskly walked over to the curtain, "hello Luke, I'm Sam Nichols, can you tell me what happened?" His face looked oddly familiar to her.


End file.
